Rise of the Oceanborn

by J. Leland Evans

Niko lives on a giant, organic floating island, three-thousand feet above a water-covered planet. He’s taught to stay away from the falling off would mean death. But for this fifteen-year-old stuck at home, floating islands are ordinary. What he wants is adventure. An unconventional mentorship sends Niko traveling across the country to witness an execution. Caught in the convict’s escape plans, Niko ends up on a desperate quest to return home. Only when he overcomes childhood horrors does he discover the startling truth about the monsters known as the Salamren. With their help–and friendship–he uncovers a threat to his island the ruthless Kanukuts, a warlike nation hell-bent on world dominion, using unholy new technology.Confronted with war, Niko must use everything he’s gained on his journey—training, unusual weapons, and strange new allies—in an attempt to save both his family and country.

300 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2024

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so refreshing! I’ve been feeling like a lot of fiction/fantasy have been similar but this book offered me a whole new world and characters that felt authentic. I was SHOCKED how much happened in 200 pages and how well the author did developing the characters within all of that. Such a good read.

[Katie Lou Slauson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I think young boys would easily enjoy. Girls probably would too, but I can particularly see my nephews enjoying an adventure novel like this. The writing style, and especially the mystical descriptions of the world that the author built, reminds me a lot of Tolkien's works.
Lots of world building went into this story, as well as a lot of original thought and creativity. There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns.
A fun read! My favorite line was, "My face is very normal, so be nice to me!" 😂

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE the incredibly imaginative world-building in this book and appreciate that Niko has real character growth throughout the novel (as opposed to some other books where it feels like the main character is just amazing from the beginning.) He’s a good kid who just wants to do the right thing and so it’s fun to read about his journey through the highs and lows. I also wasn’t expecting where the plot took me but really loved the twists that allowed us (and Niko as well!) to see more of the great world that Niko is a part of. The epic friendships in this book also made it very compelling. Overall I loved reading this as an adult and if I came across this book as a middle grade or YA reader I would have been obsesssssed. Hope to see more from this author soon haha

[Jarom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. It has great character development. An awesome and creative world filled with wonderful creatures and places. This is a good read that had me unable to put the book down. It’s a classic good versus evil with plenty of self discovery and learning thrown in. A great read.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book

I've spent the past 3 days immersed in Niko's story. Wondering how it would all play out.
And it was wonderful. Such an accessible and engaging book. I'm delighted that I got the chance to read it!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written and plotted book. Adventures throughout, as well as interesting characters, and a fun main character! For some reason the villain is really creepy to me. I just couldn’t stand him!